This invention relates to a method for forming a device for selectively applying pressure to discrete selected auricular acupuncture pressure points without penetrating the skin.
Recently, there has been a renewed interest in the ancient oriental practice of using acupuncture techniques to cure a variety of illnesses and other disorders. Generally, the practice of acupuncture involves inserting fine needles in predetermined locations on the body. The size of the needle and the location of the points on the body into which the needle is to be inserted (hereinafter referred to as "acupuncture points") depends upon the illness or disorder which is desired to be treated.
Many acupuncture points which are useful for treating a wide variety of illnesses and disorders are located on the surface of the ear. These points are identified in Acupuncture, by Czaplicki, on pp. 134-137, and may be stimulated by the usual acupuncture needles. However, whenever it is desired to stimulate the acupuncture points with acupuncture needles, the stimulation must be carried out by a physician trained in the art of acupuncture. In order to make acupuncture stimulation more readily available to the general public, those skilled in the art have been searching for methods for stimulating acupuncture points which can be carried out in the absence of a trained physician.
One proposed method has involved the insertion of staples into acupuncture points on the ear by a trained acupuncture practitioner. Proponents of this method maintain that the staples may be left in the ear for a considerable length of time. The advantage of this method is that whenever it is desired to stimulate the acupuncture point, a person having such staples inserted in his ear may simply manipulate the staples in order to obtain the desired effect. A serious drawback to this method is that the staples tend to cause infection to the skin of the ear at the points of insertion, may be painful to the patient, and may cause scarring.
In order to provide readily available access to acupuncture therapy without encountering the problems involved in puncturing the skin, it has also been proposed to apply tiny steel balls adhered to adhesive squares to acupuncture points on various places on the body. These steel balls are sold under the trade name Acu-Aids by Ionlab, Inc., Van Nuys, California. Although these Acu-Aids are suitable for application to acupuncture points on the body, they are not suitable for application to acupuncture points in the ear because there are a large number of acupuncture points crowded together in the relatively small auricular surface of the ear. Also, they may fall out, wash off, or otherwise move out of position, thus losing their desired effect or stimulating the wrong point.
Another method for stimulating auricular acupuncture points has been proposed by Francis J. McCall, and is commercially marketed as "Auricular Acu Mold Pressure Therapy". According to this method as treatment, a molded-pellet-bearing model of a patient's auricular cavity is used to stimulate acupuncture points. Generally, this model is made by forming an impression of the auricular surface of the ear, selecting the acupuncture points it is desired to stimulate, forming a mold from the impression of the ear, and filling the mold with a substance to form a model of the impression of the auricular surface of the patient's ear. Pellets are then set in the surface of the model on selected acupuncture points, which are determined by comparison of the surface of the model with charts which identify the known points of acupuncture action.
There are two obvious disadvantages of this method. One is that the location of acupuncture points on the ears of different people may differ slightly. Thus, the margin of error in placement of the pellets on the model may be greater than is desired. Another problem is that the pellets embedded on the surface are susceptible to being dislodged from the model if it is dropped or otherwise mishandled.